Weaving Your Cares Behind.....in Bedford, PA

I spent a beautiful fall weekend in Bedford,  PA attending the Basketweavers Guild Weaving Your Cares Behind  convention.  Basket classes were offered on Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning.   This year I took all three classes taught by basketmaker Anne Bowers of Kearneysville, West Virginia. 






 Friday I made a round colorful 2 /2 twill basket.  The base measures 8" square and the finished diameter of the rim is 10".  The rim is lashed with a piece of heavy waxed linen.

 
 

Saturday I wove  two square ribbed baskets.  The larger basket began with an 8" square handle, while the smaller basket used a 6" square.  After making a decorative handle and God's eye,  all the whittled ribs were inserted into the basket behind the God's eye at the same time.  I used thin cane to begin the weaving and hold the ribs in place.  The remainder of the basket was woven with colored flat reed.

On Sunday Anne had a collection of old potato mashers for us to weave around.  Some mashers had round bases and others had square bases.  I selected a rusty round potato masher with a brown wooden handle.  Splints were attached to the holes of the masher and I row of twined a row of round reed to secure it to the potato masher.  Additional splints were added to the twined row.  The base was woven out to the desired size, twining the round reed. The sides were brought up and woven in a start/stop weave.  I used brown, mustard and rust colored accents on the side to coordinate with the potato mashers color.

Magic Basket

I was commissioned by a magician to make a large basket for his Basket Girl Illusion act.  He had been unable to find a suitable basket in any magic shop or catalog.   Another magician he knew had an antique basket used for the illusion, so I was able to see it to take measurements and for a visual reference.  I decided to take up the challenge.   It is the largest basket I've made in some time.  I can't wait to see him use it in a performance.


BASKET GIRL ILLUSION  -   The illusion starts with a girl to stepping into the basket.  A large cloth is thrown over the girls head as she is pushed into the space.  The basket lid is put on a the cloth is removed and stomped on to show the girl is still in the basket.  The magician now runs 4 swords through the basket - one on each side and through the top of the lid. The swords are removed from the basket.  The cloth is thrown over the basket and the lid and cloth are removed together, revealing the girl is still in the basket.  The cloth is again thrown over the girl as she is pushed down in the basket.    Then the magician steps into the basket to show it is now empty.  The cloth is thrown aside.  A form seems to appear under the cloth.  The magician walks over to the basket and throws the cloth in the basket.   The cloths suddenly starts to move and raises higher and higher .    Upon being thrown aside the girl suddenly reappears!

2015 A Weaving Odyssey

The Central Pennsylvania Basket Weaver's Guild hosted another fabulous basket convention this past weekend.  Instructors and basket weavers of all experience levels gathered in Gettysburg, PA for a fun-filled weaving experience.

 Thursday I learned to weave with waxed linen by Deb Roberson of Hallam,PA.  I made a tiny 2 1/2" diameter bowl using  twining and a braided border. 





Friday I took a class with Laura Lee Zanger from Augusta, GA to make an Oconee Twill Tote basket.  The tote begins with a 3/3 twill  base.  The sides are woven in a Cherokee 1-3-5 twill.  I personalized one of the medallions in the design with my monogram.  Leather straps were added for easy toting.






I wove with copper and hand-painted watercolor paper strips under the direction of Judith Saunders of Norfolk, VA on Saturday.  First I created a square based, 5 1/2" high bias weave vessel with  a distinctive plaid pattern .  A copper rim was lashed with waxed cotton cord.  Paper pinwheel curls were added to embellish the side.   








I took a second class with Judith Saunders on Sunday.  I used  copper and paper strips to make a small pouch necklace  measuring 2 1/2" by 3 1/2". with  in a similar style.

 

Alaskan Baleen Basketry

When I travel I am always on the lookout for local basketry.  While recently visiting Alaska I was  looking for baskets made of cedar.  (This spring I took a class to learn to weave a basket with Alaskan red cedar strips.)  What I found were many more styles of Alaskan baskets by native artists.

In addition to admiring many beautiful baskets in the Doris Borhauer Basket Collection in Sitka, Alaska I learned about Baleen Basketry.

Baleen or "whale bone" is the tough keratin that comes from the mouth of plankton eating whales. Inupiaq native artisans adapted the traditional coiled willow-root basket style to form baleen baskets beginning in the early 1900's.  Artisans continue to create coiled baskets with this material.  Most black baleen baskets I saw in Alaska had a ivory circle base and a carved ivory decorative top to the lid. They were beautiful and skillfully made!

 

Check out the following website for more information on Baleen Baskets :  http://natural-history.uoregon.edu/collections/web-galleries/inupiaq-baleen-baskets

Gathering Basket

 A Gathering Basket was often used to hold cut garden flowers collected for arrangements.  The long length and shallow depth of the basket allowed for flowers to be placed with out disturbing the blooms.

This basket is 15 inches long by 9 inches wide.
The basket is only 4 inches depth.  It is woven with natural flat reed and has dyed purple highlights. 

Sweetgrass and Pineneedle baskets

I have continued to experiment with sewing sweetgrass coiled baskets.










For this basket I combined sweetgrass coils with
pineneedles.  Brown pineneedle coils formed the base. 
Using palmetto strips I continued the base and sides
with sweetgrass coils.

The top of the basket has a coil of black pine needles
held with black waxed linen.   A sliced walnut was
added to two sides and held in place with a final coil
of black pineneedles.







I coiled red dyed pine needles around a wood burned oval base using waxed linen.

After several rows of red pineneedles, I switched to black pine needles.

I ended the coiled basket with two rows of sweetgrass. 

Sweet Grass Basketry

Mary Graham-Grant is dedicated to preserving the tradition of sweet grass basketry that was brought to South Carolina by slaves who came from West Africa.   Born and reared along the coast in Georgetown, South Carolina,  Mary Graham-Grant makes baskets similar to the baskets that are made in Sierra Leone, Africa.   She spent a week at Common Ground on the Hill sharing her knowledge and expertise.

I took Mary Graham-Grant's class to learn this technique of "sewing" coiled baskets. The center of the basket begins with a longleaf pine needle knot. Sweet grass, which grows in marshy coastal areas of South Carolina, are bundled and  coiled around the center.  Using strips of palmetto leaves to bind the coils of sweet grass the base is woven to the desired diameter.  The sides are then raised to the desired height.  I added a twisted loop handle on one side of my basket.  

You can learn more about Mary Graham-Grant and her baskets by visiting her website:  theweaversnookmgg@webs.com